Eva T. Cantarella Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
| Partner | |
| phone | (248) 335-5000 |
| fax | (248) 335-3346 |
| Email Me | |
Eva T. Cantarella is a partner at Hertz Schram. Her primary practice areas are (i) Property Tax Appeals and (ii) Employee Benefits, with a focus on class claims for pension benefits under both the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") and governmental plans. Ms. Cantarella is currently litigating several class claims for pension benefits, including a Class Action against the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System.
Property Tax Appeals
Ms. Cantarella is the former owner and President of Oakland/Macomb Appraisal Services (OMAS), a real estate appraisal company. During her tenure with OMAS, Ms. Cantarella performed thousands of appraisals for banks, mortgage companies and other financial institutions.
Since 1996, Ms. Cantarella has handled all property tax appeals at Hertz Schram, including appeals on office, industrial, retail, and luxury condominium properties. To date, all appeals Ms. Cantarella has handled have resulted in a significant reduction in the taxable value of the subject property. Successful resolutions the past few years have included appeals on (i) 21 E. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI (office building); (ii) the Livonia Mall Shopping Center, Livonia, MI (retail); (iii) 3535 Cricklewood, New Baltimore, MI (industrial); (iv) Village Square Shopping Center, Denton Township, MI (retail); (v) Village of Wexford Shopping Center, Haring Township, MI (retail); and (vi) a group of 34 luxury condominiums in the Willits, Birmingham, MI.
Pensions
Ms. Cantarella has also been a speaker and commentator on pension issues in, and to, a variety of fora and media, including pension asset managers, pension and investment reporters, the IRS, Department of Treasury, and other governmental agencies, international consulting and accounting firms, cable television, pension interest organizations and associations, and national, state, and local employee benefit groups.
Ms. Cantarella's activities in the pension arena and comments on pension issues have been reported in/on numerous publications and websites, including www.BenefitsLink.com ; www.pensionrights.org ; www.TheJournalnews.com ; www.CFO.com ; the Wall Street Journal, IBL Class Action Reporter; Lawyers Weekly USA; Business News; Gannet News; Cincinnati Enquirer; Hartford Courant; Tax Analysts; and Michigan Benefits and Business. Not surprisingly, Ms. Cantarella is frequently solicited for comment on pension issues by our nation's legislators, employee and retiree organizations, and reporters.
In 2002, Ms. Cantarella authored A Class ACT: ERISA Pension Claims and the Class Action Mechanism , which was published in the National Lawyer's Weekly and Michigan Lawyers Weekly. In 2006, Ms. Cantarella organized over 160 law professors and attorneys around the country to advocate for amending ERISA's remedial statutes so as to better protect participants and their beneficiaries with respect to their employer-provided benefits. Today the group has grown to 330 members and is known as GEER (Group for Equitable ERISA Remedies). Ms. Cantarella is admitted to practice in all U.S. Courts of Appeals, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and in the U.S. Tax Court; and has been admitted to practice pro hac vice in numerous federal district courts.
- Areas of Practice:
- Property Tax Appeals
- Employee Benefits, including pension, disability, health and life ins.
- Class Claims for Pension Benefits, both private and governmental
- Bar Admissions:
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Tax Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan
- Education:
- Wayne State University Law School, Detroit, Michigan
J.D.
Honors: Cum Laude
Law Review: Wayne Law Review - Oakland University, Rochester, MI
B.A., Awards in Mathematics
Honors: Summa Cum Laude
Major: Political Science & Economics
- Representative Cases:
- Zimmer v. Henry House, Inc., 1:95-CV-318 (W.D. Mich )
- Ramsey v.Amfac, Inc., No. C-95-CV-4317 (N.D.Cal. )
- McElwaine v. U.S. West, Inc., No. 96-CV-00214 (D. Az )
- White v. Employee Retirement Plan of Amoco Corp. & Participating Cos.,, No. 96-CV-4298 (N.D. Ill )
- Lyons v. Georgia-Pacific Corp. Salaried Employees Retirement Plan, No. 97-CV-0980 (N.D. Ga )
- Wimbush-Bowles v. GTE Serv. Corp. Plan for Employees' Pensions, No. 98-CV-0598 (M.D. Fla. )
- Gromala v. Royal & Sun Alliance, No. 01-CV-72196 (E.D. Mich. )
- Crosby v. Bowater Inc. Retirement Plan for Salaried Employees of Great Northern Paper Inc.,, No. 1:01-CV-683 (E.D. Mich )
- Hampton v. Henry Ford Health Syst. Pension Plan, No. 04-CV-70221 (E.D. Mich )
- Humphrey v. United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast, No. 05-CV-758 (S.D. Texas )
- Stewart v. AT&T, No. 5:07-CV-318 (W.D. Tex )
- Stewart v. AT&T, No. 1:070-CV-911 (S.D. Ohio )
- Fitzpatrick v. Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System, No. 06-001694-AA-C30 (Ingham County, MI Cir. Ct. )
- Classes/Seminars Taught:
- Practical Law - Employee Benefits, Comcast Cable Television, 1997
- Practical Law - Pensions, Comcast Cable Television, 2003
- ERISA Fiduciary Compliance Review, Deloittee & Touche, 1999
- Cash Balance Plans, Employee Benefit Security Administration, 1999
- Cash Balance Plans, ISCEBS - Detroit Area Chapter, 2000
- Corporate Funds Forum - Cash Balance Plans - The Right Way, Investment Management Institute, 1999
- Corporate Funds Forum - Round Table on Cash Balance Plans, Investment Management Institute, 2000
- Cash Balance Plans, Michigan Bar, Tax Section Employee Benefits Subcommittee, 2000
- ERISA Litigation Seminar, Oakland County Bar Association, 2003
- Pension Issues, IRS &Treasury Department, 2003
- Pension Issues, Michigan Center for Aging Policies, 2004
- Employee Benefits Committee - Cash Balance Plans, Chicago Bar Association, 2004
- Professional Associations and Memberships:
- Michigan Bar - Tax Section
- ASPPA Benefits Council of Detroit (a/ka ABC of Detroit)
- Member
- ABA, Labor & Employment Section, Employee Benefits Subcommittee
- Participating
- International Society of Employee Benefit Specialists, Detroit Area Chapter
- Participating
- Michigan Employee Benefits Conference
- Participating
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